1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus that generates image data based on scenarios. Specifically, the invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an excellent user-friendly interface capable of facilitating a user's understanding of a relationship between destinations and processing conditions for image data when the image forming apparatus generates the image data based on plural scenarios, an image forming apparatus utilization system and a method for generating the image data in the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Directory services are often utilized in network systems. A directory service allows searching user information stored in servers over a computer network such as a LAN, including accessible printers and servers, from clients. One such a directory service is known as an “Active Directory”.
Various types of directory services may be available. In one example of the directory service technology (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-087479), different processing conditions for corresponding image forming apparatuses are stored in an external server in advance, and one of the image forming apparatuses is caused to retrieve the corresponding processing condition from the server, set the retrieved processing condition, and execute processing based on the set processing condition. With this directory service technology, a user is capable of executing desired processing on the image forming apparatus with a minimum operation of the image forming apparatus.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-087479 discloses an image reading system that can easily set read information such as read conditions and destinations of image readers connected to a network with excellent user-friendliness. In the image reading system having a scanner and a scan server mutually connected via a network, when the scanner receives the user ID, the scanner transmits the user ID to the scan server via the network, the scan server determines whether the transmitted user ID matches a user ID registered in an internal memory of the scan server, and if the transmitted user ID matches the user ID registered in the internal memory of the scan server, the scan server transmits the read information corresponding to the user ID to the scanner.
Such an image reading system utilizing the scanner disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-087479 is capable of transmitting the image data scanned by the scanner via electronic mail; however, setting for the delivery (i.e., transmission of the image data) such as a method for delivering the image data or delivery destination of the image data are registered in the external server. Accordingly, in the related art directory service technology, if a user desires to transmit image data to plural destinations (e.g., plural email addresses), the user also needs to select plural processing conditions. However, since the selected plural processing conditions are mutually different from one another, it is generally difficult for the user to understand to which destinations the image data are to be transmitted, and under which processing conditions such image data are to be read. That is, it is generally difficult for the user to understand a relationship between destinations and corresponding image data.